This invention relates to a prewired switch housing which includes a cable seal which prevents fluid from traveling by capillary action through an attached electrical cable into the interior of the housing. More particularly, it relates to switch housings particularly adapted for use in wet or hostile environments.
In general, it is desirable to prevent fluids, such as water and oil, from entering the interior of the housings of electrical switches because such fluids can interfere with the normal operation of the switch by causing shorting, corrosion, mechanical sticking or the like. Therefore, switches which are intended for use in wet or hostile environments are usually specially designed to be fluid tight. In one type of switch intended for use in such environments a resilient gasket is interposed between the mating surfaces of the housing sections of the switch to form a fluid-tight seal. However, even switches equipped with such gaskets have not completely solved the problem as it has been found that when such switches are subjected to wet or hostile environments or when they are improperly terminated, such as in an open junction box, fluid can enter the switch housing by traveling through the electrical cable by "wicking" or capillary action.
In an attempt to provide a solution to the "wicking" problem, some cable manufacturers have produced cable with an "antiwicking" filler material interposed between the individual wires or conductors. However, the use of such filler material does not prevent the "wicking" of fluid through the individual conductors. One attempt to solve the problem of "wicking" through the individual conductors has been the development by cable manufacturers of a "water blocked" cable in which the individual conductors are packed with a jelly-like substance which prevents "wicking" through the strands. However, the approach is not without disadvantage for the preparation of the cable ends for wiring is a messy and hazardous procedure because the jelly-like substance must be removed in an acid bath.